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Sunday, March 28, 2010
Pakistan no longer a sanctuary for militants: Qureshi
* FM says Taliban, al Qaeda terrorists fleeing tribal areas for new destinations
* Pak-US ties have improved over last 18 monthsWASHINGTON: Pakistan’s successful actions have al Qaeda terrorists and the Taliban on the run, who are now fleeing its Tribal Areas for new destinations, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday, adding that Pakistan was no longer a haven for militants.
“Our operations have curtailed the border crossings. Today, the Taliban and al Qaeda and their associates are on the run. Pakistan was once considered to be a safe haven. No longer. People are running away from Pakistan because they are seeing the seriousness, the resolve of the people and the armed forces,” he told the Charlie Rose Show for the Public Broadcasting Service.
Without taking any names, the foreign minister said many militants were “trying to escape and go into places like Yemen, Somalia and other countries, because Pakistan is no longer considered to be a safe place for them.”
Qureshi, who co-chaired a high-level strategic dialogue with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier this week, said Washington recognised “that many of the big names have escaped and they’re looking for new destinations.”
Relations: The foreign minister noted a marked improvement in the Pak-US relationship over the last 18 months.
“We have covered substantial ground in narrowing the trust (gap), in converging our interests, and today I think we are speaking on the same page. What President Barack Obama just said in the last 48 hours, I was working on that, trying to convert this relationship into a partnership,” he said.
“And if you look at the sacrifice, if you look at the decisions, if you look at the resolve and the determination shown by the Pakistani people and the Pakistani armed forces, you would recognise that Pakistan has taken concrete steps in that direction, you know, the army, the military operations in the Tribal Areas and in Swat and Malakand have paid off.”
Referring to his interaction with American lawmakers, Qureshi said there had been a huge shift in Capitol Hill’s attitude towards Pakistan. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk